Cape Coast

We stayed in Cape Coast for two nights (Feb 4 and 5). I had the pleasure of using my mosquito net for the first time while we were there. I've heard that they can be annoying to sleep under, but I slept just fine. I have actually slept fine every single night. And I luckily didn't have any jet lag -- I think the extra night in London helped with that.

We got to drive through some of Western Ghana on our trip from Accra to Cape Coast. It was absolutely stunning!! The west is a rain forest so we saw a lot of vegetation even though it is the dry season here in Ghana. It was incredible to see. I didn't want to fall asleep because there was so much to take in. There were random little clusters of houses along the road and people where selling things all along the streets. I don't know how they manage to sell anything because they all sell the same merchandise -- old cellphones and nick knacks.

At one point I saw these four little boys playing in a little pool of water. They were all naked and jumping on a pipe that was across the water. It was adorable! They were pushing each other off and having so much fun.

I seriously love seeing people constantly in the streets. And seeing them outside of their homes -- entire families work together all day. Children are free to roam wherever they please because everyone keeps an eye on them. It's incredible to think that each of these little villages were created entirely through manual labour -- without the help of any sort of western technology. That is so much work!!

We also saw plenty of garbage dumps along the way. That was difficult to see as kids were wading through it. Some were playing and others were looking for food or anything remotely salvageable. I could not imagine living that way and needing to go to such extreme measures to survive. Seeing it first hand really made me wish I could do something - anything - to make life easier for people here. Where do you start though? How do you help?? Who do you start with? It's a lot to take in and work through.

We got to Cape Coast after a few hours of traveling and checked in to our motel -- the Botel, which is built over a crocodile swamp. We were in a dorm room which was actually a lot of fun. There was a pool right outside our door which was absolutely divine!! It was so nice to swim and relax by the pool. So nice.

At the Botel I got to touch a crocodile! It felt like I expect any reptile would - hard. I touched his leg too to see if that felt any different, but it didn't. It was pretty cool though. Sleeping at the botel was ok too, even though our fans didn't produce much relief. It wasn't too hot - about 30 degrees at night - so we managed just fine. It was really humid so our skin was constantly moist and sweating. I really enjoy the heat though -- in fact, I wish it was a little hotter. I hear Tamale is warmer so I am trying to enjoy the "cooler" temperatures.

I'm going to do another post right away, but I figure it is easier to take things in smaller doses so I didn't want to try pack it all into one. There is more on its way though!

xoxo ashley